A Brief Encounter with Basilisks
by Suspicious Popsicle
Summary: Just a quick, canon universe oneshot. Flynn is really hard-headed in this one. Fluri.


A/N: Normally, I don't like to post stuff that's too short here and would have left this on my dreamwidth with the drabbles. I think it's cute, though, so here you are.

Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from Tales of Vesperia and do not belong to me.

* * *

Somehow, Flynn had gotten himself lost. Using his sword to push aside lush sprays of leaves, Yuri backtracked through the forest, calling his name and searching for any sign of him through the trees. He wasn't getting any response, and the woods were so thickly littered with the bodies of monsters that Repede was having trouble sniffing out his most recent trail. Much as Yuri hated to admit it, he was starting to get just the tiniest bit worried.

"Flynn? Hey, Flynn! You still alive out there?"

Repede whined at him, and Yuri made a face.

"I was just kidding. I'm sure he's fine." Scouring the forest's deep greens for a hint of Flynn's plain blue tunic or a glimpse of bright blond hair, Yuri muttered under his breath: "He'd better be."

The trip had been Yuri's idea. He had managed to lure Flynn away from his duties for a simple vacation: camping with a side of monster fighting. True to form, things hadn't gone well. They had lost two days to Sodia's talent for manufacturing emergencies that required the Commandant's immediate attention. Then, when they had finally escaped the capital, it had begun pouring down rain, soaking them as they traveled and turning the ground into a cold, sucking muck that slowed them down and shortened their tempers. The rain had only let up just _after_ they had gotten the tent pitched.

It hadn't been the start to their trip that Yuri had wanted, but once the weather had cleared up, they had gone out for a hike and stumbled onto a nest of basilisks. As far as Yuri was concerned, that was exactly what they needed to work out some frustration and have a little fun. Even without blastia to boost their attacks, the melee should have been a decisive victory for the three of them. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like their bad luck had returned. The forest wasn't so dense as to prevent Flynn from hearing Yuri and calling back. Something had to have gone wrong.

Catching a glimpse of gray on the opposite side of a stand of trees, Yuri very nearly walked right on past, thinking it was nothing more than a boulder. Something gave him pause, however, and he slipped through the trees to take a closer look. It was a good thing he did.

"Oh, no. Flynn, how could you let one of them get you?"

Flynn had apparently been scratched by a basilisk. Literally petrified, he stood in mid-strike, a ferocious piece of garden statuary. Rifling through his own pockets for a cure, panacea, or stone bottle, Yuri circled Flynn slowly. He didn't seem to be too banged up, which was good, but being turned to stone was definitely a big problem, particularly as Yuri had nothing on him to reverse the condition.

He rapped his knuckles against Flynn's chest before turning away, alert for any hint that there might still be a basilisk looking to make a meal out of one or both of them. Hadn't he heard somewhere that basilisks preferred a diet of rocks to flesh, and that they turned people to stone for that reason? He wasn't sure if that was true, but he didn't want to find out by letting Flynn get nibbled on.

"Repede, you mind running back to camp and grabbing something to fix this?"

With a bark, the dog shot off through the woods, leaving Yuri alone with Flynn, the overgrown garden gnome. He couldn't help smirking, relieved to have found him in a condition that could be rectified. While actually being turned to stone was fairly rare, Yuri was reassured by the knowledge that it wasn't fatal. Still, if Sodia ever found out, she would gut him for sure. He winced at that thought and glanced back at Flynn.

Did it hurt? He was entirely gray, though the coloring of the stone varied from charcoal to the light gray of ashes and shone faintly with flecks of reflective black. If he was no longer flesh and bone, was it even possible to feel pain? He couldn't move, not even to blink or breathe. Did his heart still beat somewhere inside a stone shell, or did the condition affect him all the way through? Was he still actually alive?

Disturbed by that thought, Yuri paced the clearing, eyes drawn to Flynn every few seconds. It seemed like Repede was taking forever. He wished he had gone himself, just so that he could be _doing_ something, but he hadn't wanted to leave Flynn defenseless, and Repede would be able to make it to camp and back quicker.

He looked at Flynn's face, noting the concentration there that had been focused in on one foe while another had caught him unawares. What had happened to those basilisks? Had they lost interest in Flynn after petrifying him? Had they left to go after Yuri, intending to return later? Were they simply hiding, having been waiting for the chaos to die down before coming back for easy pickings?

"What's taking Repede so long?"

Flynn didn't have an answer for him. His lips were pressed together, attention fixed on a phantom predator beyond the end of his blade.

Unbidden, memories of old tales he'd heard as a child in the lower quarter and then years later, recounted by Estelle during their travels together, sprang to the front of Yuri's mind. Maybe there was another way to help Flynn. Couldn't hurt to try.

It was awkward, trying to get close enough while avoiding the obsidian sharpness of Flynn's blade, but Yuri managed. He had to brace himself with one hand on Flynn's shoulder and, after a hesitant moment, rested the fingertips of his free hand against Flynn's cheek.

"Hope this works." He closed his eyes, leaned in, and gently kissed Flynn's lips.

He gave it a few hurried heartbeats, just to be sure, but when it quickly became apparent that the fairy tale method wouldn't be at all useful, he backed away, feeling decidedly foolish. As he turned, he saw Repede sitting on the grass, head cocked to the side, watching him.

"Shut up," Yuri mumbled, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Did you find something?"

Without waiting for an answer, he reached into Repede's satchel and pulled out a panacea bottle. He popped the cork, looking skeptically at Flynn. No chance of getting him to drink it. Hoping this worked better than his first attempt at a cure, Yuri upended the bottle over him.

The results were immediate, and Yuri had to dodge quickly to the side as Flynn followed through with his unfinished strike as if he had never been interrupted. He spun back around to face Yuri, surprise on his face and his guard still up.

"Was I just…?"

"More hard-headed than usual? Yeah." Yuri grinned at him, watching Flynn's movements closely for any lingering effects. "All good?"

"Yes. And you?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Flynn. Come on. Let's get back to camp."

As Yuri brought up the rear on their way back to the trail, Flynn paused a moment to let him catch up.

"Thank you," he said, softly.

"What for?"

The smile Flynn gave him was as bright and warm as a midsummer day, and it suddenly occurred to Yuri to wonder if he had been aware of what was going on around him while he had been a statue. He froze as Flynn answered his question.

"Thank you for trying."

Hell. He never should have resorted to fairy tale cures. Flynn was never going to let him live that down.

"Don't tell me _you're_ petrified now," Flynn teased. "Should I try to fix that for you?"

Nope. He was never going to live that down.


End file.
